Fans Think BTS’s V Isn’t Doing Okay And They Lay Out All The Reasons Why
ARMYS gathered online to discuss why they think BTS‘s V isn’t okay and share their concerns with one another.
While all of the BTS members are indeed quite busy, and thusly, overworked, fans seem to be particularly concerned for V. Over the years, they’ve observed a change in his personality, watching him become quieter. Everyone still loves him just the same and no one thinks this is a negative trait, however, they worry about why he’s changing.
From speculation that V has always been quiet and is finally comfortable in presenting his true self to fans, to worries that the stress of being world-famous is getting to him, here are the reasons fans think V isn’t doing OK.
1. Maturing
BTS debuted in 2013. That’s a whole 7 years ago! V was just coming into adulthood around that time, so naturally, he’s matured a bit since his debut.
Taehyung has matured a lot, which is only natural. When he debuted, he was an 18-year-old still trying to navigate his way through life as he was transitioning from a teenager to a young adult. He is not a carefree, reckless teenager anymore. He is now a member of one of the biggest boy groups in the world and as a result, he is constantly under pressure and he receives a lot of criticism. Many people tend to forget that K-pop idols are also humans. We cannot expect them to act or behave the same way they would when they were teenagers. With maturation, he has become more serious, self-aware, resilient, and open-minded.
—Angela Chou, ARMY
2. Stress
Even though BTS are loved around the globe, there’s a downside that comes with fame: having to deal with anti-fans and sasaengs.
People are mean and overly critical of them, they almost never get to spend time with their families, they have to deal with antis and sasaengs constantly, they feel so much pressure to live up to the crazy high standards both in South Korea and the rest of the world every minute of the day and they only get ONE day off out of the whole month. What kind of a life is that?
—Lindsey Marie, ARMY
3. Expectations
There are some people who can’t separate the artist persona from who they are in real life. In this case, people expect V to be V all the time, not himself as Taehyung.
Taehyung said on Weverse he started being more cautious since people only approached him and only cared about him as V and not Taehyung.
—Thaylisi Grazielle, ARMY
4. Experiencing loss
Experiencing loss is sure to change anyone, but when you’re under the spotlight constantly, you may not have the opportunity to properly process your grief.
Taehyung had to endure the pain from the death of his grandma, who he viewed as a motherly figure, and the suicides of two of his close friends in 2017. He also lost his grandfather shortly after. Experiencing the death of people close to you is something that will affect you emotionally, mentally, and sometimes physically. It sometimes comes with great sorrow and sadness and it can change your mindset or attitude. Although Taehyung is mentally strong and a deep thinker, experiences like this could have been large breaking points that changed his life, for the better or for the worse. He may also be experiencing personal issues that he is not willing to publicly share because he doesn’t want his fans to worry or because it is a secluded, intimate issue that he doesn’t feel comfortable sharing with the world.
—Angela Chou, ARMY
5. Name-calling
However well-intentioned a nickname might be, if the person on the receiving end of the nickname doesn’t like it, it can become something that wears them down over time.
Taehyung is a very unique person, with a very peculiar personality as for what he told us and for what the members comment. However, if you look at BTS old interviews, post etc… people would always mock and bully Taehyung for being who he is, calling him “alien” etc…
—Thaylisi Grazielle, ARMY
Sometimes, people call him 4d or an alien even though he has stated he doesn’t like it.
—Alexis Hernandez, ARMY
6. Bullying
The more popular you are, the more open you are to criticism and bullying. Unfortunately, the rise of social media has given anonymous haters the platform to live their keyboard warrior lives.
At one point, some tweets by haters became viral on Twitter. In those tweets, the accounts demanded Taehyung to leave BTS, calling him “talentless,” “ugly”, etc., along with the hashtag #TaehyungleaveBTS. Luckily ARMYs aimed to counter that by trending the hashtag #Taehyungweloveyou and #TaehyungYouArePerfect. Because emotions influence how we process memories, we often remember the negative comments more than positive ones. As a result, negative criticism and hate are likely to deteriorate one’s self-confidence and worth. At the end of the day, we should be bringing each other up, not down.
—Angela Chou, ARMY
While V might actually be absolutely fine, fans are have been diligent about his behavior since 2017! They’re determined to let V (and all the members of BTS) know that they purple them in order to avoid the tragedies that have been plaguing K-Pop over the last few years.
We need to keep an eye on him. I didn’t know of Jonghyun or SHINee until after Jonghyun’s death but, after doing some research, there were signs that we were losing him and people ignored it. PLEASE, ARMY! I BEG YOU. If you start seeing signs that one or any of our boys are slipping, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!! We don’t know them personally, but we share a bond with them as a whole that is unlike anything there’s ever been before. An army protects things that are precious and our boys are precious.
—Lindsey Marie, ARMY
